Vision correction with intraocular lens implants

Sorry I couldn't get back to you sooner, just been tied up 😢

Two years ago, I went out and got Verisign lenses with -8.5D in both eyes at once.
Now? It's like my vision is already starting to slip again. Honestly, Light doesn't have the best doctors, so take whatever anyone says with a grain of salt!

Sanjičak, how'd it go for you?

In what way exactly do you mean you can't see clearly? 🤷

It’s like my floaters are actually moving. They don't really shift, but that's how it looks to me since my vision isn't always 100% sharp anyway.

It might just be some kind of "halo" effect. I deal with that myself whenever I'm in low-light settings; my pupils dilate past the edges of my lenses, which causes the light to refract in a weird way.
But honestly, it’s a totally normal thing, so I don't let it get me worked up. 😉

Sandra King2, Terry Scott57, Sanjičak, Mia, and everyone else—please drop a line on this forum! I’m also looking into getting an intraocular lens implanted myself—since some of you have already gone through it, I’d love to know how things turned out for you and pick your brains about a whole bunch of other stuff too.

Everything is looking great so far. 😬

I just had a follow-up appointment recently, and the results were solid.
It’s been about 15 months since my surgery, and I haven't run into any issues at all.
I'm really hoping things stay this smooth moving forward. 😁

Honestly, I’m just looking to hear about people's actual experiences here.

Let me bring this topic back up for a second...
I’m really curious to hear from anyone here who’s actually gone through this procedure. I mean, how much has the tech actually moved the needle in just the last few years? Are they using any fancy new types of lenses now, or is it pretty much the same old story?

The thing is, I’m planning on getting my vision corrected once I’ve saved up enough cash—it's a big goal! Mostly because I’m heading out to work on a ship soon, and since my prescription is so high, laser surgery basically isn't even an option for me...

I'm guessing the cost is around $3.25 per eye? Or is there a way to find a better deal? I remember someone mentioning something about traveling to Mexico for laser options...

Hi there—just thought I’d jump back in here to try and stir things up a little bit.
How did things go for those of you who have already gone through the surgery?
In my case, it looks like an Intel implant might be my only real option—has anyone else here actually done that?

The thread has gone quiet. Has anyone here tried those new Symphony lenses yet? I'm curious to hear what the experience has been like...

From what I can gather online, most people are talking about multifocal lenses implanted after the natural lens is removed—which is usually the case during cataract surgery. But in this thread, our main focus seems to be correcting vision by using lens implants alongside the eye's existing natural lens. This approach is typically used for high prescriptions when the cornea is too thick to make traditional laser eye surgery a viable option.

Lawrence Morales7 said:From what I can gather online, most people are talking about multifocal lenses implanted after the natural lens is removed—which is usually the case during cataract surgery. But in this thread, our main focus seems to be correcting vision by using lens implants alongside the eye's existing natural lens. This approach is typically used for high prescriptions when the cornea is too thick to make traditional laser eye surgery a viable option.

It's exactly the same situation for me. If Sandra King2 is reading this, please reach out and share your experience... since quite a bit of time has passed since your procedure.

I’m just sitting here waiting for the call from the Cleveland Clinic to get my surgery scheduled. I’ve already knocked out all the pre-op exams and everything—so now it’s just a waiting game. I’ll be sure to post an update once it's all over and I'm on the mend. To give you some context, I'm heading in because of some retinal detachment issues, and honestly, my vision is pretty rough—I'm sitting at a -10.5 diopter on that eye.

Benjamin Rivera4 said:I’m just sitting here waiting for the call from the Cleveland Clinic to get my surgery scheduled. I’ve already knocked out all the pre-op exams and everything—so now it’s just a waiting game. I’ll be sure to post an update once it's all over and I'm on the mend. To give you some context, I'm heading in because of some retinal detachment issues, and honestly, my vision is pretty rough—I'm sitting at a -10.5 diopter on that eye.

Good luck with the procedure. I'm also at a ten diopter deficit, but since I don't have floaters, I'll be paying out of pocket... I'm 50 now. Do you know what kind of lenses they're planning to use?

Steven Stewart5 said:Good luck with the procedure. I'm also at a ten diopter deficit, but since I don't have floaters, I'll be paying out of pocket... I'm 50 now. Do you know what kind of lenses they're planning to use?

I grilled my doctor about pretty much everything—here's the breakdown of what I managed to squeeze out of him (he wasn't exactly the chatty type, though):

- Medicare only covers monofocal lenses. I totally forgot to ask if they were aspheric—which, honestly, should be better than spherical ones—especially regarding how they handle optical distortions from bright light sources at night.

- I asked him about multifocal lenses too. Since Medicare won't cover the cost, he mentioned he's actually seen cases where patients come into their clinic specifically to have those multifocals removed just to switch back to basic monofocals. This doctor insists that with multifocal lenses, there are always these "transitions" where the light refracts differently, and that's where the issues start. Then again, the internet is absolutely flooded with glowing reviews for them, so... I don't really know what to make of it all.

- With monofocal lenses, it's not unheard of to end up seeing well both near and far (I was actually messaging a guy from Canada about this via PM), but the standard approach seems to be aiming for clear distance vision and then just handling the near vision with reading glasses.

Anyway... I'll let you know how it goes.

Benjamin Rivera4 said:I grilled my doctor about pretty much everything—here's the breakdown of what I managed to squeeze out of him (he wasn't exactly the chatty type, though):

- Medicare only covers monofocal lenses. I totally forgot to ask if they were aspheric—which, honestly, should be better than spherical ones—especially regarding how they handle optical distortions from bright light sources at night.

- I asked him about multifocal lenses too. Since Medicare won't cover the cost, he mentioned he's actually seen cases where patients come into their clinic specifically to have those multifocals removed just to switch back to basic monofocals. This doctor insists that with multifocal lenses, there are always these "transitions" where the light refracts differently, and that's where the issues start. Then again, the internet is absolutely flooded with glowing reviews for them, so... I don't really know what to make of it all.

- With monofocal lenses, it's not unheard of to end up seeing well both near and far (I was actually messaging a guy from Canada about this via PM), but the standard approach seems to be aiming for clear distance vision and then just handling the near vision with reading glasses.

Anyway... I'll let you know how it goes.

Doctors never seem to have time to actually talk to patients, and they don't realize how much stress we go through having someone poking around in our eyes. Honestly, I'd rather lose an arm than my sight. I watched some videos of lens implant surgeries on YouTube, and while putting them in looks okay, taking them out seems intense. You really need a top-tier surgeon for that. Now I'm stuck wondering if I should wait for newer, better technology or just pull the trigger now. It's not an emergency, but life with glasses is a struggle. I used to wear contact lenses—semi-hard ones—and they were great, but I ended up with astigmatism after thirty years of wearing them. Did you manage to get an appointment?

Steven Stewart5 said:Doctors never seem to have time to actually talk to patients, and they don't realize how much stress we go through having someone poking around in our eyes. Honestly, I'd rather lose an arm than my sight. I watched some videos of lens implant surgeries on YouTube, and while putting them in looks okay, taking them out seems intense. You really need a top-tier surgeon for that. Now I'm stuck wondering if I should wait for newer, better technology or just pull the trigger now. It's not an emergency, but life with glasses is a struggle. I used to wear contact lenses—semi-hard ones—and they were great, but I ended up with astigmatism after thirty years of wearing them. Did you manage to get an appointment?

That's interesting. I actually started wearing contacts way back in 1978 (!!!), and to this day, I still tolerate them pretty well. As for me, no, I haven't gotten an appointment yet—they haven't called me back. I'm expecting things to move along by the time we pass Our Lady...

I'll definitely post an update here on the forum once I know more.

Benjamin Rivera4 said:That's interesting. I actually started wearing contacts way back in 1978 (!!!), and to this day, I still tolerate them pretty well. As for me, no, I haven't gotten an appointment yet—they haven't called me back. I'm expecting things to move along by the time we pass Our Lady...

I'll definitely post an update here on the forum once I know more.

Have you heard about those new bionic lenses coming out of Canada? Apparently, they claim to provide perfect vision. They might hit the market in a year or two...

I’ve heard the buzz, but honestly, I don't spend much time dwelling on them. Most of those headlines feel like they're just designed to pump up stock prices and drum up more capital for their R&D departments...

To be perfectly blunt, I haven't the slightest clue what makes them so much better than everyone else out there—or even how their actual process works.

I haven’t forgotten about this thread, I promise! It’s just that I haven't actually pulled the trigger on anything yet, so I haven't had much to report.

So, I’ve got a question for the group: When you're dealing with nearsightedness—meaning there isn't a cataract involved—does the procedure to implant an intraocular lens also require removing your natural lens first?